WIMBLEDON, England — Get ready for Wimbledon before play begins on Monday with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the grass-court Grand Slam tennis tournament, what the betting odds are, what the schedule is, who the defending champions are and more:
— In the U.S.: Tennis Channel, ESPN
— Other countries are listed here.
Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz are listed as the favorites to win the singles championships at the All England Club, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Swiatek — who never has made it past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon — is a -175 money-line pick; she was at +275 right after winning the French Open only 2 1/2 weeks ago. Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and twice a semifinalist at Wimbledon, is next for the women’s title at +400, followed by 2022 champion Elena Rybakina (+650) and reigning U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff (+700). Defending champion Alcaraz is listed at +150, ahead of Jannik Sinner (+275) and Novak Djokovic (+350), with a big drop-off to the No. 4 choice, Alexander Zverev (+700).
The site is the All England Club. The surface is grass courts. Women play best-of-three-set matches; men play best-of-five-set matches. Unlike the other three Grand Slam tennis tournaments, there are no night sessions; a curfew prevents play past 11 p.m. The event lasts 14 days, including play now on the middle Sunday, which until 2022 was not used for competition except on four occasions when rain created a backlog of matches. There are retractable roofs on Centre Court and No. 1 Court.
The singles brackets for this year’s tournament will be determined on Friday.
— Monday-Tuesday: First Round (Women and Men)
— July 3-4: Second Round (Women and Men)
— July 5-6: Third Round (Women and Men)
— July 7-8: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
— July 9-10: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)
— July 11: Women’s Semifinals
— July 12: Men’s Semifinals
— July 13: Women’s Final
— July 14: Men’s Final
Try your hand at the AP’s quiz about Wimbledon.
What to read:
— Who are the top women in the field?
— Who are the top men in the field?
— Andy Murray is still trying to decide whether he can play at Wimbledon
— Rafael Nadal is skipping Wimbledon to prepare for the Paris Olympics
— An outside review says the U.S. Tennis Association can do more to protect players
Marketa Vondrousova earned her first Grand Slam title a year ago at the All England Club, defeating Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to become the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon. Carlos Alcaraz got past Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 for his first trophy at Wimbledon and second at a major (a total he recently raised to three by winning the French Open). Djokovic had won four consecutive titles at the All England Club and seven overall.
Iga Swiatek is the top-seeded woman. Jannik Sinner is the top-seeded man.
Are Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray going to play at Wimbledon?
As of Thursday, it was still not entirely clear whether past champions Djokovic or Murray would end up playing in the tournament. Both are 37 and coming off recent operations. Djokovic, who owns a total of 24 Grand Slam titles, tore the meniscus in his right knee during the French Open and had surgery on June 5. He has been testing the knee at the All England Club, including a Centre Court practice session with Jannik Sinner on Thursday; Djokovic wore a gray sleeve on his right leg. Murray, who has three major trophies, wants to take more time to figure out whether he can play at Wimbledon after having a procedure last week to remove a cyst on his spinal cord. Murray said he had planned to retire after competing at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics.
Total prize money at Wimbledon in 2024 is rising to a record 50 million pounds, which is about $64 million — an increase of nearly 12% from last year. The two singles champions each will receive 2.7 million pounds, about $3.45 million.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
